Dear Old Gold
Fansided

Iowa Football: Five Players to Watch in Spring Practices

By Dylan Burn

Nov 14, 2015; Iowa City, IA, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes head coach Kirk Ferentz congratulates tight end George Kittle (46) during the second half against the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Kinnick Stadium. Iowa won 40-35. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 14, 2015; Iowa City, IA, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes head coach Kirk Ferentz congratulates tight end George Kittle (46) during the second half against the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Kinnick Stadium. Iowa won 40-35. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
5 of 6
Next
Nov 27, 2015; Lincoln, NE, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers quarterback Tommy Armstrong Jr. (4) tries to avoid the sack by Iowa Hawkeyes linebacker Aaron Mends (31) during the fourth quarter at Memorial Stadium. Iowa beat Nebraska 28-20. Mandatory Credit: Reese Strickland-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 27, 2015; Lincoln, NE, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers quarterback Tommy Armstrong Jr. (4) tries to avoid the sack by Iowa Hawkeyes linebacker Aaron Mends (31) during the fourth quarter at Memorial Stadium. Iowa beat Nebraska 28-20. Mandatory Credit: Reese Strickland-USA TODAY Sports /

No. 2 – Aaron Mends

Mends is a guy that I have been excited about since the Hawkeyes landed him back in 2014.  After a redshirt season, Mends appeared in 13 games last year for the Hawkeyes and recorded four total tackles and half of a sack.  Those aren’t eye-popping numbers obviously, but there is a reason the coaching staff is excited about him.

As most of you probably already know, Mends is an absolute beast in the weight room.  Chad Leistikow over at the Des Moines Register wrote a good article on this back in January.

In short, Mends asked Cole Fisher if he could lift with him and Fisher told him no because he didn’t want to have to be picking up the weight and putting it back on all time.  Well, little did Fisher know, Mends was going to be putting more weight on top of Fishers.

Jim Reid, who left Iowa back in early January to become the defensive coordinator at Boston College, is extremely high on Mends.  And if we’re listening to anyone, it should be Reid considering he was the linebackers coach at Iowa before his departure.

Teammates have spoken about Mends and one said that it was unlike anything he’d ever seen before.

"“He’s got the physical tools to be just crazy good. The amount of power and speed that he brings is nothing that I’ve seen since I’ve been here.” – Cole Fisher – Des Moines Register"

Obviously the hype is there, but we’re going to get a good look at what Mends will actually bring to this team during spring ball.  He’ll have two pretty experienced guys in Josey Jewell and Ben Niemann to line up next to and learn from and he got to hang behind Cole Fisher and see how things are done this past season.

Mends is definitely one to watch in spring ball.

Next: Number One

Home/Iowa Football